Hanna (TV series)
Hanna is an American action drama web television series, based on the 2011 film of the same name, on Prime Video. The series was created and written by David Farr, directed by Sarah Adina Smith, and stars Esme Creed-Miles, Joel Kinnaman, and Mireille Enos. The first episode was made available on Amazon Video as a time-limited preview on February 3, 2019. The full eight-episode first season was released on March 29, 2019, and the second season was released on July 3, 2020. In July 2020, the series was renewed for a third season.[1]
| Hanna | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | |
| Created by | David Farr |
| Based on | |
| Starring | |
| Composer(s) | |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 16 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) |
|
| Producer(s) | Hugh Warren |
| Cinematography | Dana Gonzales |
| Editor(s) | Morten Højbjerg |
| Camera setup | Single-camera |
| Running time | 47–55 minutes |
| Production company(s) |
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| Release | |
| Original network | Prime Video |
| Original release | February 3, 2019 – present |
| External links | |
| Official website | |
Premise
Hanna is a 15-year-old girl living with Erik, the only man she has ever known, as her father, in a remote part of a forest in Poland. Erik once recruited pregnant women into a CIA program, code name UTRAX, where the children's DNA was enhanced with 3% wolf in order to create super-soldiers. When Erik falls in love with Johanna, Hanna's mother, he rescues baby Hanna and they flee. The CIA then orders their on-site agent, Marissa, to shut down the project and eliminate all the babies.
Of the TV adaptation, writer David Farr says: “I’ve always felt the film was weirdly male, but knew this TV series would have a more female-centric quality.”[2]
Cast and characters
Main
- Esme Creed-Miles as Hanna, a girl who was part of the original UTRAX program as an infant, but who was rescued by Erik Heller who raised and trained Hanna on his own
- Mireille Enos as Marissa Wiegler, the CIA operative in charge of the original UTRAX program who has an obsessive interest in Hanna, though she allies herself with Hanna in the second season
- Joel Kinnaman as Erik Heller (season 1), a former CIA operative who worked for UTRAX, but who fell in love with Hanna's mother and who rescued Hanna after her mother's death; he subsequently hid Hanna away, raising her as his own, and training her to be an operative
- Noah Taylor as Dr. Roland Kunek (season 1), a scientist who has designed the regimen for the young agents in the program that is the successor to UTRAX
- Dermot Mulroney as John Carmichael (season 2), the CIA operative in charge of the program that is the successor to UTRAX
Recurring
CIA
- Khalid Abdalla as Jerome Sawyer (season 1)
- Justin Salinger as Carl Meisner (season 1)
- Andy Nyman as Jacobs (season 1)
- Anthony Welsh as Leo Garner (season 2), a supervisor at The Meadows who is responsible for indoctrinating the trainees
- Cherrelle Skeete as Terri Miller (season 2), a new transfer who is in charge of using social media interaction to cultivate trainees at The Meadows
- Katie Clarkson Hill as Joanne McCoy (season 2), a CIA officer who works under Carmichael at The Meadows
England
- Rhianne Barreto as Sophie (season 1), Hanna's new friend whose family Hanna meets in Morocco
Germany
- Stefan Rudolf as Rudi (season 1)
- Katharina Heyer as Elsa (season 1)
- Peter Ferdinando as Lucas (season 1)
- Benno Fürmann as Dieter (season 1)
Poland
- Joanna Kulig as Johanna Petrescu (season 1), Hanna's mother
UTRAX
- Yasmin Monet Prince as Girl 249 / Clara Mahan, a trainee at the UTRAX facility who is rescued and escapes with Hanna
- Áine Rose Daly as Girl 242 / Sandy Phillips, a trainee at the UTRAX facility who is transferred to the Meadows
- Gianna Kiehl as Jules Allen (season 2), a trainee at the Meadows facility whom Sandy befriends
- Ross O'Hennessy as Camp Guard 2 (season 2)
Guest
CIA and UTRAX
- Michelle Duncan as False Marissa (season 1)
- Varada Sethu as CIA Analyst McArthur (season 1)
- Andrea Deck as Carlsson (season 1)
- Emma D'Arcy as Sonia Richter (season 2), a new addition to Marissa's Paris office, but she is actually working for Carmichael
England
- Lyndsey Marshal as Rachel (season 1), Sophie's mother
- Phaldut Sharma as Tom (season 1), Sophie's father
Germany
- Ursula Werner as Sara Heller (season 1), Erik Heller's mother
- Narges Rashidi as Sima (season 1), Dieter's wife
Episodes
| Season | Episodes | Originally released | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 8 | February 3, 2019 (preview) March 29, 2019 (official) | |||
| 2 | 8 | July 3, 2020 | |||
Season 1 (2019)
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | "Forest" | Sarah Adina Smith | David Farr | February 3, 2019 (preview) March 29, 2019 (official)[3] | |
| 15 years after Erik Heller rescues baby Hanna from a covert Romanian facility, the two live deep in the Polish forest. Erik trained Hanna to be an incredible killer and hunter. Yet, keen to grow beyond the boundaries of her isolated world, she begins to venture away from home. This attracts the attention of CIA agent Marissa Wiegler, who has hunted Hanna since birth. | ||||||
| 2 | 2 | "Friend" | Sarah Adina Smith | David Farr | March 29, 2019 | |
| Following her capture by Marissa's men, Hanna must fight to escape from the Moroccan CIA facility and join Erik in Berlin. Along the way, she meets Sophie, a British teenager on holiday with her family, who gives Hanna her first proper taste of the real world and the thrill of adolescence. Yet despite this glimpse at normality, the threat of Marissa and her operatives is never far behind. | ||||||
| 3 | 3 | "City" | Jon Jones | David Farr | March 29, 2019 | |
| Hanna and Erik are reunited in Berlin, where they hide out with his old army friends and she learns more about her father's past. However, Hanna continues to long for the normal life she glimpsed with Sophie and becomes increasingly frustrated at the restrictions her own father imposes on her. Sensing Marissa is closing in on them, Erik and his friends begin to prepare for an attack. | ||||||
| 4 | 4 | "Father" | Jon Jones | David Farr | March 29, 2019 | |
| Erik is holding Marissa prisoner, trying to negotiate a deal to get him and Hanna safely out of Berlin. Meanwhile Hanna hides out with Dieter and his family. Desperate to know more about what her father is up to, Hanna discovers a huge secret in her own past. As an escape plan begins to form, Marissa attempts to make her own. | ||||||
| 5 | 5 | "Town" | Amy Neil | Ingeborg Topsoe | March 29, 2019 | |
| Still reeling from her revelations about Erik, Hanna hides out in suburban London with Sophie, who is keeping her new friend secret from her parents. Sophie persuades Hanna to attend a school party where Hanna experiences the thrill of a teenage crush for the first time. Meanwhile, Erik's friends desperately try to save him from the life-threatening injuries he sustained fleeing capture. | ||||||
| 6 | 6 | "Mother" | Amy Neil | David Farr | March 29, 2019 | |
| Sophie and Hanna's relationship begins to turn sour over their shared interest in Anton. In the fallout from this argument, Marissa arrives at Sophie's house pretending to be Hanna's mother. Hanna finds herself torn between endangering Sophie and her family, or giving up her own freedom and going with Marissa. Meanwhile, a captured Erik is brutally interrogated by Sawyer and his men. | ||||||
| 7 | 7 | "Road" | Anders Engström | David Farr | March 29, 2019 | |
| Realising that Hanna will no longer accept anything but the full truth, Erik takes her back to Romania so she can learn more about her past. Meanwhile, Marissa begins to sense that Sawyer has not been telling her the full truth about UTRAX. | ||||||
| 8 | 8 | "Utrax" | Anders Engström | David Farr | March 29, 2019 | |
| When Erik reveals to Hanna the truth about UTRAX, she is determined to take action. Meanwhile, Marissa attempts to find out from Sawyer what has really been going on at the facility. Erik and Hanna attempt to rescue trainees from UTRAX facility, however, they manage to convince only one trainee, Clara, to escape with them. They managed to escape the facility with help from Clara, but Erik succumbs to his injuries. | ||||||
Season 2 (2020)
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | 1 | "Safe" | Eva Husson | David Farr | July 3, 2020 | |
| As Hanna hides Clara in the vast forest of Northern Romania, the remaining trainees are transferred to an educational facility called The Meadows, where they are assigned new identities and encouraged to socialize with each other. Marissa sets about finding Clara by posing as her mother online. She lures her to a hotel in Bucharest, where she is ambushed and captured by Utrax. Hanna follows and is reunited with Marissa. | ||||||
| 10 | 2 | "The Trial" | Eva Husson | David Farr | July 3, 2020 | |
| Marissa and Hanna return to Paris, and Clara is re-introduced to the group at The Meadows. Her rebellious nature causes problems, so Terri is tasked with persuading her to follow the programme. Pursuing Clara, Hanna finds the pharmaceutical company behind the Utrax medical implants and takes part in a drug trial. She discovers that the drugs are bound for the trainees at The Meadows. | ||||||
| 11 | 3 | "To The Meadows" | Eva Husson | Paul Waters | July 3, 2020 | |
| Hanna returns to Passway Pharmaceuticals and follows Louis Dumont and the drugs out of the city, aware that this will lead her to The Meadows. Marissa discovers that Sonia is in Belgium and reaches Hanna just in time, killing Sonia in the process. Hanna arrives at The Meadows, ready to save Clara, but is shocked to discover that Terri's plans to get through to Clara have worked. Clara appears to have settled in. | ||||||
| 12 | 4 | "Welcome Mia" | Ugla Hauksdóttir | Laura Lomas | July 3, 2020 | |
| Marissa joins Hanna at The Meadows, assuring her that she is on her side by arranging an escape plan for that evening. Hanna convinces Clara to join them, but the familial community of The Meadows proves too comforting for her, and she betrays Hanna, putting the power back in Carmichael's hands. Meanwhile, CIA operative Mannion finds The Meadows, but there is no sign of Hanna or Marissa... | ||||||
| 13 | 5 | "A Way To Grieve" | Ugla Hauksdóttir | Nina Segal | July 3, 2020 | |
| Marissa is imprisoned in The Meadows while Hanna is encouraged to embrace her new identity as Mia Wolff. But doing so requires grieving for Erik, which Terri helps accelerate. Marissa escapes and convinces Hanna to leave, only for Clara to get in their way. Clara shoots Marissa and tells Carmichael that Hanna did it to stop Marissa from kidnapping her. Hanna is accepted back into The Meadows. | ||||||
| 14 | 6 | "You're With Us Now" | Ugla Hauksdóttir | Charlotte Hamblin | July 3, 2020 | |
| Hanna and Jules are sent on their first mission. They are to kill a journalist in London who is planning to meet with a military lawyer intent on exposing Utrax's secrets. Meanwhile, Sandy and Clara fly to Barcelona to recover the evidence. Hanna attempts to back out and joins forces with Mannion in an attempt to save Nicola's life, but Jules and Leo are one step ahead. The consequences are disastrous. | ||||||
| 15 | 7 | "Tacitus" | David Farr | David Farr | July 3, 2020 | |
| Hanna arrives in Barcelona, intent on saving Gelder and persuading Clara to leave Utrax. Hanna tells Clara the name and whereabouts of her mother, leaving her conflicted. Sandy has earnt Gelder's daughter Kat's trust and is furious when Clara backs out of killing them. She kills Gelder whilst Hanna and Clara escape with Kat. Marissa is tasked with finding Hanna by Mannion's colleague, Grant. | ||||||
| 16 | 8 | "The List" | David Farr | David Farr | July 3, 2020 | |
| Following Gelder's murder, Carmichael arrives in Barcelona. Hanna, Clara and Kat hide in a hillside villa. Hanna returns to the hotel and recovers Gelder's target list. She is helped by Marissa, who follows Carmichael to the villa and blackmails him into bringing his fellow Utrax leaders to justice. Hanna allows Clara to reunite with her mother before returning to Marissa to help destroy Utrax. | ||||||
Production
Development
On May 23, 2017, it was announced that Amazon had given the production a straight-to-series order. David Farr, who co-wrote the film, was expected to write the series. Executive producers were set to include Marty Adelstein, Becky Clements, Scott Nemes, and JoAnn Alfano. Production companies involved with the series were slated to consist of Tomorrow Studios and NBCUniversal International Studios.[4][5][6][7]
On February 8, 2018, it was announced that the series would be directed by Sarah Adina Smith and that Working Title Television, with executive producers Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner, had joined the production.[7] On April 11, 2019, it was reported that Amazon renewed the series for a second season,[8] which premiered on July 3, 2020.[9] On July 13, 2020, Amazon renewed the series for a third season.[1]
Casting
On February 8, 2018, it was announced that Mireille Enos, Joel Kinnaman, and Esme Creed-Miles had been cast in the series' lead roles.[7][10][11] In September 2019, it was reported that Dermot Mulroney, Anthony Welsh, Severine Howell-Meri, Cherelle Skeete, and Gianna Kiehl were joining the cast of Hanna for its second season, with Yasmin Monet Prince and Áine Rose Daly also returning from the first season.[12]
Filming
Principal photography for the series was expected to begin in March 2018 in Hungary, Slovakia, Spain, and the United Kingdom.[7] Filming was also set to take place in Spain at the port of Almeria and the Estación Intermodal.[13][14]
For the second season, filming took place in the United Kingdom, and in Barcelona and Paris. Filming also took place in the French department Nord, which doubled as the city of Charleroi, Belgium.[15]
Release
The full eight-episode first season of Hanna was released March 29, 2019.[16][3] On February 3, 2019, coinciding with the broadcast of a teaser for the series during Super Bowl LIII), the first episode was made available on Amazon Video as a time-limited preview for 24 hours.[17]
Reception
On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the series holds an approval rating of 67% based on 39 reviews, with an average rating of 6.63/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "A gritty reimagining of the 2011 film, Hanna adds new wrinkles to the mythology and texture to the titular assassin — though the series' long-winded journey may try the patience of viewers who want their violent fables concise."[20] On Metacritic, it has a weighted average score of 57 out of 100, based on 16 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[21]
Nick Allen of RogerEbert.com gave the series a negative review, saying that "it's one of the more maddening examples in recent film adapting, and not just because it's so similar to its singular 2011 parent, Joe Wright's Hanna."[22]
The second season hold a Rotten Tomatoes critics score of 93%, indicating universal acclaim.
References
- Iannucci, Rebecca (July 13, 2020). "Hanna Renewed for Season 3". TVLine. Retrieved July 13, 2020.
- May, Steve (June 17, 2020). "Hanna Season 2 smashes back onto Amazon Prime Video, preview trailer lands". The Luxe Review.
- Joseph Baxter; Alec Bojalad (February 14, 2019). "Amazon Hanna TV Series Release Date, Trailer, Cast, and More". Den of Geek. Retrieved March 23, 2019.
- Andreeva, Nellie (May 23, 2017). "'Hanna' TV Adaptation Gets Straight-To-Series Order At Amazon From NBCU Int'l Studios". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved March 13, 2018.
- Holloway, Daniel (May 23, 2017). "Amazon Orders 'Hanna' Series From NBCUniversal International Studios". Variety. Retrieved March 13, 2018.
- Sandberg, Bryn Elise (May 23, 2017). "Amazon Orders 'Hanna' TV Adaptation to Series". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved March 13, 2018.
- Andreeva, Nellie (February 8, 2018). "'The Killing' Duo Mireille Enos & Joel Kinnaman, Esme Creed-Miles To Star In 'Hanna' TV Series Adaptation For Amazon". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved March 13, 2018.
- Petski, Denise (April 11, 2019). "'Hanna' Renewed For Season 2 By Amazon". Deadline Hollywood.
- "Video: "Hanna" Season 2 Teaser Trailer Debut". The Futon Critic. April 29, 2020.
- Nemetz, Dave (February 8, 2018). "Joel Kinnaman, Mireille Enos Reunite to Star in Amazon's Hanna Adaptation". TVLine. Retrieved March 13, 2018.
- Goldberg, Lesley (February 8, 2018). "'The Killing' Stars Joel Kinnaman, Mireille Enos Reunite to Topline Amazon's 'Hanna' TV Series". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved March 13, 2018.
- Petski, Denise (September 10, 2019). "'Hanna': Dermot Mulroney, Anthony Welsh Among Five Cast For Season 2 Of Amazon Series". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved July 13, 2020.
- "Almería acoge el rodaje de la serie 'Hanna' para Amazon TV". Europa Press (in Spanish). Almería. May 23, 2018. Retrieved May 25, 2018.
- D.M. (May 24, 2018). "La serie de televisión 'Hanna' rueda escenas en Almería". Diario de Almería (in Spanish). Grupo Joly. Retrieved May 25, 2018.
- "Where Hanna season 2 filmed? Explore the stunning Meadows filming location". hitc.com. July 8, 2020.
- "Amazon Prime Video Releases Official Trailer For 'Hanna' Season 1 + Premiere Date!". February 15, 2019.
- Pedersen, Erik (January 30, 2019). "'Hanna': Amazon Sets Post-Super Bowl Sneak Preview Of Drama Series – Watch The Big-Game Spot". Deadline Hollywood.
- Greene, Steve (January 4, 2019). "'Hanna' First Trailer: There's a Baby Missing and It's Probably Coming to Kill You". IndieWire. Retrieved February 3, 2019.
- Bennett, Anita (February 3, 2019). "'Hanna' Fights 'To Be Heard' in Super Bowl Spot for New Amazon Series". Deadline Hollywood.
- "Hanna: Season 1 (2019)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved November 6, 2019.
- "Hanna: Season 1". Metacritic. CBS. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
- Allen, Nick. "Amazon Clones 2011 Film Hanna for Frustrating New Series | Demanders | Roger Ebert". RogerEbert.com. Retrieved March 29, 2019.